Communication systems have been developed to allow transmission of information signals from an origination station to a physically distinct destination station. In transmitting an information signal from the origination station over a communication channel, the information signal is first converted into a form suitable for efficient transmission over the communication channel. Conversion, or modulation, of the information signal involves varying a parameter of a carrier wave in accordance with the information signal in such a way that the spectrum of the resulting modulated carrier wave is confined within the communication channel bandwidth. At the destination station, the original information signal is reconstructed from the modulated carrier wave received over the communication channel. In general, such a reconstruction is achieved by using an inverse of the modulation process employed by the origination station.
Modulation also facilitates multiple-access, i.e., simultaneous transmission and/or reception, of several signals over a common communication channel. Several multiple-access techniques are known in the art, such as time division multiple-access (TDMA), frequency division multiple-access (FDMA), code-division multiple-access (CDMA) spread spectrum system.
Originally, the multiple-access communication systems were designed to carry analog signals (typically voice signals) between users. With the development of digital communication systems, there came the ability to transfer digital data representing any kind of information, and not only voice information.
The above-discussed techniques apply equally to wireless and wire-based communication systems. Wire-line communication systems transfer information along a path constrained by a guide, e.g., a copper cable, a fiber optic cable, said guide connecting the users; while wireless communication systems transfer information along path between users not constrained by any guide.
By way of example, in a multiple-access wireless communication system, communications between users on subscriber stations are conducted through an access network. A subscriber station is an entity with which an access network communicates through a wireless path. A subscriber station may be mobile or stationary. An access network is a collection of at least one base station and one or more base stations' controllers. An access network transports information signals between users on subscriber stations. The access network may be further connected to additional networks outside the access network, such as a corporate intranet or the Internet, and may transport information signals between each base station and such outside networks. A base station is an access network entity, with which subscriber stations communicate.
A first user on one wireless subscriber station communicates to a second user on a second wireless subscriber station by conveying an information signal on a reverse link to a base station. The base station receives the information signal and conveys the information signal on a forward link to the second subscriber station. If the second subscriber station is not in the area served by the base station, the base station routes the data to another base station, in whose service area the second subscriber station is located. The second base station then conveys the information signal on a forward link to the second subscriber station. The forward link refers to transmissions from a base station to a wireless subscriber station, and the reverse link refers to transmissions from a wireless subscriber station to a base station. Likewise, the communication can be conducted between a first user on a wireless subscriber station and a second user on a landline station. A base station receives the data from the first user on the wireless subscriber station on a reverse link, and routes the data through a public switched telephone network (PSTN) to the second user on a landline station.
It is well known that quality and effectiveness of information transfer in a wireless communication system is dependent on the state of a communication channel between a source terminal and a destination terminal. Such a state can be represented as, for example, the channel impulse response, an unit step response, a path loss and the path loss' variation at a subscriber station within a coverage area of a base station, interference from other subscriber stations both from the same cell and from other cell, interference from other base stations, and other factors known to one of ordinary skill in the art. A designer of a communication system can significantly increase the efficiency of transmissions over a communication channel if the channel state information can be used at the transmitter to adapt the transmitted signal to the channel.
It is noted that the above discussed efficiency of signal transfer applies also for systems that do not “communicate” information per se, e.g., RADAR systems, because the effective transmission of the signal non bearing information is still one of a primary issues. To prevent obscuring the disclosure with excessive terminology repetition, the term communication system is used collectively for all types of systems.
One of the proposed approaches to utilize the channel state information is to use filter matched to the channel. This approach results in a high peak-to-average ratio of power required for transmission, and (for certain modulation schemes) also in need for very linear transmitter. These requirements translate into very expensive transmitters. Furthermore, the amount of the channel state information necessary for proper determination of the matched filter is high, resulting in a high feedback rate if the station utilizing the channel state information is not the station determining the channel state information.
Another proposed approach, better suited to modulation schemes using a direct sequence spreading, is to adapt a spreading sequence to a channel by selecting, from a set of spreading sequences, the spreading sequence that results in the best transmission efficiency in accordance with the channel state information. An advantage of this approach is a lower feedback rate if the station utilizing the channel state information is not the station determining the channel state information. However, the need to change the spreading sequence causes several problems. As is explained in detail below, one selection criterion selects the spreading sequence, an autocorrelation function of which multiplied by an autocorrelation function of the channel impulse response yields a maximum. Clearly, to obtain such a sequence, the above-described computation must be performed for each spreading sequence from the set of spreading sequences. The selection criterion is; therefore, computationally intensive.
Furthermore, such an optimal selection of a spreading sequence in a multi-user environment may result in selection of identical sequences for at least two users, causing increased interference. As a consequence, should interference be avoided, optimal spreading sequence assignment using this approach is not possible.
Because an insignificant number of currently used communication systems based on the CDMA standard known as IS-95 (“TIA/EIA/IS-95 Mobile Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode Wide-Band Spread Spectrum Cellular System”) and CDMA2000 (“TR-45.5 Physical Layer Standard for CDMA2000 Spread Spectrum Systems”), as well as communication systems according to a standard known as W-CDMA, which is a CDMA-based standard (“3rd Generation Partnership Project” or “3GPP,” see for example document nos. 3G TS 25.211, 3G TS 25.212, 3G TS 25.213, and 3G TS 25.214), utilize direct sequence spreading, there is a need in the art for an apparatus and method for adapting a spreading sequence to a channel in a communication system.